An angry Chronicle reader last month claimed that residents in Booth Lane are forced to put up with groups of travellers 'setting up camp where they saw fit'.

The reader, who wanted to stay anonymous, called on authorities to do something about it, saying the travellers were lowering the quality of the area.

Writing in after travellers set up camp in Booth Lane, the reader called on the authorities to force them to use the designated sites.

The reader said: 'This town is ready for an uprising. Middlewich people won't put up with the squalor of Booth Lane much longer.'

But other residents of Booth Lane say they haven't had any problems - and, if anything, travellers have helped to improve properties as they work hard to repair and do them up.

One resident angry at the suggestion is Nicola Antoney. She and her husband, Peter, say they lost a house sale as a result of the claims, which she says are untrue. Luckily, they received a second offer within days.

Nicola said: 'When I saw the article I was not impressed and I know that whoever wrote the letter mustn't live on Booth Lane. If they did live here they would know we don't live in squalor.'

Neighbour Cathy Rosenbaum was shocked when people showed her the comments.

A resident in Booth Lane for about two years, she said: 'It's wrong to say we're ready for an uprising - I think it's quite a nice road to live on.'